Two overseas survey-based scales measuring perceived quality of neighbourhood were adapted and replicated in a New Zealand context. An Italian study (Bonaiuto, Fornara, and Bonnes. (2003). "Landscape and Urban Planning," 65, 41-52) measuring Perceived Residential Environmental Quality (PREQ) and an American study (Carp and Carp. (1982).…

This report provides an update about innovative uses of information and communication technology (ICT) for distance education and training in South Asia. Particular focus is given to ICT initiatives in India, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan, at university level, and in non-formal interventions. Lessons learned from these countries are of value to any…

This study examined the living situations and self-perceived needs and resources of 2,121 low-income teen and adult mothers. African American and teen mothers were more likely to coreside with grandparental figure(s) than other ethnicities and older mothers. European American mothers and adult mothers were more likely to be living with a partner.…

Speaking at a Harvard University commencement 60 years ago, Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed a massive program of aid and redevelopment--since known as the Marshall Plan--to bring a war-ravaged Europe back to economic health, political stability, and peace. Today colleges and universities need a new such plan, with university…

This article examines the personal savings rates required to provide an average worker with adequate retirement funds. The influence of (1) various definitions of adequacy, (2) inflation, and (3) economic growth on the magnitude of the retirement preparation task are examined. With this perspective, the current roles played by the social security…

Decades of conservative attempts to scale back Social Security and Medicare, by limiting the program's universality through means testing and drastic benefit cuts, have failed. Thus, after numerous unsuccessful attempts at dismantling the U.S.'s universal old-age welfare state, or even meaningfully restraining its growth, conservative critics have…

The Canadian population is aging and becoming more ethnically diverse. This paper focuses on South Asian immigrant seniors and examines differences in housing and living arrangements among seniors who immigrated at different life stages. We interviewed a convenience sample of 161 immigrant seniors of South Asian descent in Edmonton, Alberta, to…

Early identification of patients who need a social work evaluation is integral to effective discharge planning. This article describes the development and application of the Social Work Admission Assessment Tool (SWAAT), a six-item scale that identifies patients with complicated discharge needs who require a social work evaluation. It addresses…

Adolescent aspirations associated with perceptions of "living well" were qualitatively evaluated based on 187 middle school student responses. Using grounded theory methodology, 976 words and phrases were coded and grouped; 41.9% were extrinsic, 36.3% were intrinsic, and 21.8% of the passages were merely descriptive. Extrinsic coded…

In a global society and economy, education and training is essential to a nation's competitiveness and to the standard of living of its people. The need to open the doors of higher or further education beyond the relatively limited enrollments in elite and selective universities has spawned a movement to develop or expand institutions that are…

Sociologists have long recognized the relationships between family background and social class attainment. However, by neglecting the multiple ways in which families and parents provide advantages and the extent to which these advantages extend into adulthood, they may still be underestimating the role of families in the reproduction of class…

This article examines the determinants of children's schooling during the 1990s in rural areas of Vietnam. It focuses on the impact of family attributes on the likelihood of children remaining in school or leaving during the primary and secondary school years. Using data from the Vietnam Living Standard Survey (VLSS) of 1992-93 and 1997-98, the…

Rapid economic growth and improving living standards have benefited almost all regions of the world since the industrial revolution. Africa stands out as one regional exception. While several factors such as civil wars and rampant corruption have been associated with poor economic performance of the African region in the international community,…

The period since 1991 has seen a general improvement both in terms of household welfare and schooling participation in Ghana. This monograph explores the patterns among descriptive indicators and uses regression analysis to examine possible causal relationships with special reference to the role of education in determining welfare and its…